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As Deadline Approaches, EB-5 Applications Double

Posted on November 28, 2017

The US government recently extended the deadline for submitting the applications for the EB-5 Investor visa program to December 8, 2017. This has given the Indian EB-5 aspirant an added boost to apply which has in turn, seen a triple jump in numbers in the recent past.

The last three years have seen an increasing number of Indian entrepreneurs willing to invest a million bucks in the US business market. This program grants them permanent residency and allows them to migrate to the US with their immediate family for a period of two years. This includes, their spouses and unmarried children under 21. In order to qualify, applicants have to invest between half to one million dollars in a business enterprise within the US. This could either be in a government-approved EB-5 project or into a personal business of his choice as long as it generates employment and income for 10-full time local employees.

The highest number of annual EB-5 applicants have been at 354 so far. However, with this extension in application deadlines, Yr. 2017 is expected to have a still higher number of submissions which are forecasted to touch 600. Indians entrepreneurs have shown a 25% likelihood of investing in their own enterprise instead of going along with a pre-approved project. This is evidently, way above the global average of 7%. Apart from the increasing awareness of alternative migrating options to the US, it is also the most straight-forward option, in light of the hard-to-get work-related visas like H1B, J1 and L1 visas. So much so, some ambitious Indian diaspora looking to expand their businesses on a global scale, join in groups of 3-4 to individually invest the said capital and migrate to the US on a Green card.

With the Trump administration making it much harder for the H1B visa holders to get through under the pretext of ‘Buy American, Hire American’ the EB-5 investor program seems like the most favored route today, particularly among Indians. Latest numbers from the Department of Labor reflect that India is ranking third globally, right behind China and Vietnam, respectively. Moreover, while getting permanent residency through the more traditional routes like EB-2 and EB-3 is currently taking close to 12 years, the EB-5 visa gets you in under two years. Lastly, the recent economic growth experienced by countries like India and China has translated to more capable EB-5 contenders, especially when it comes to affordability.

Given the few more days left for the final submission for this year’s EB-5 visa applications, petitioners can still accumulate the required funds, documentation and choose an appropriate project for a chance to get an American green card and the information in Investor-Based Green Card can help.